In the capital of Transnistria, a Kremlin-backed microstate sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine, the festive New Year’s lights have gone dark ahead of schedule. This separatist sliver of Moldova will run out of energy in three weeks,

Every time planned electrical outages are imposed on his village in southern Moldova, 73-year-old retiree Vasili Donici passes the time solving crosswords and puzzles in a room he illuminates with a small gas lamp.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a new alert on Thursday warning non-European carriers not to fly within western Russia airspace due to the risk of being unintentionally targeted by its air defence systems.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned airlines to steer clear of several cities in Russia following the fatal crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet that was likely shot down by Russian forces.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recommended that airlines should not use Russian airspace for flights due to the risk of war-related incidents. The recommendation is valid until 31 July 2025 but may be revised earlier if necessary.